


Ghostly Lover

by OnlyForward



Category: Dr Strange - Fandom, Iron Man - Fandom, MCU, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: #I know the title is shit but I don’t have anything better, #ghost, #ironstrange, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23334778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyForward/pseuds/OnlyForward
Summary: Stephen gets sad & brings Tony back as a ghost. Tony can’t eat cheeseburgers anymore, but he sure can raise Morgan
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange, tony/stephen
Kudos: 25





	Ghostly Lover

The funeral was brutal in the most blatant way possible. Beautiful, yes, the most peaceful setting possibly on Earth, nay, the Universe, but brutal. 

Tears weren't a kind friend to Stephen Strange and they didn't come easy, either. They didn't come when he saw Morgan Stark in the arms of one Pepper Stark, they didn't come when he saw Peter Parker, whose eyes were full of tears and they certainly didn't come upon seeing all of the official Avengers close to breaking point. 

It was damn near close though. 

No, they came later, after he arrived back at the Sanctum. Wong welcomed him back with a hug, a cup of steaming hot tea and the silent offer for him to cry on his shoulder. But Stephen was one to cry alone, so he trudged up to his room with that feeling of nearly-approaching tears lodged in his throat.

He cried for Anthony Stark alone in his room, the tea cooling quickly as he let out pained breaths accompanied with wet cheeks and red eyes. Yes, he loved Tony, but was there anyone who could really say that they didn't? Even after living in one universe, you had to love the man, let alone over fourteen million of them. It just made it all the more difficult for him to say goodbye. 

And he had no right to be saying goodbye in formality, that lay with the ones closest to him, with his personalised message that Pepper, Morgan and Rhodes had seen. Peter had received one too, of course, alongside everything he had inherited from Tony's will. Stephen only knew about this because he had become into close contact with Peter's Aunt May after everything was over, exchanging numbers. He and Peter had developed a bond of some sort, a sort of mentorship bond that he was eager to nurture. May was worried Peter would never be able to move on, but Stephen had suggested to give him time. 

Which was ironic, considering he was sitting here crying his eyes out, and had been for way too long.

He pretended, later on, that he didn't know what made him do it. The guilt, perhaps. Or maybe it was looking into Tony's daughter's eyes, that perfect reflection of Tony, and seeing the innocence and confusion at her dad's disappearance. Maybe she was the reason he decided to play with magic. 

When he tried the spell, he hadn't expected it to work, god, he'd been expecting it to fail dramatically and him to be back eating take away pizza on his bed in despair. He just wanted to say goodbye to Tony, really, and this was the best way to do it. 

Summon his ghost.

But when Tony popped up, glasses and all, smirk plastered onto his face, Stephen burst into tears again, falling to the floor and shattered himself into pieces (he was so broken at this point it'd take a miracle to put him back together, and it was unlikely that GhostTony would be able to establish that in terms of his physical capabilities.

"Hell no we aren't having that. Strange! Strange! Look at me!" Stephen was determined to ignore him, and that he did, until Tony managed to completely guilt trip him.

"Uh, saviour of your universe here, hello? Mr hold up one finger and hope Tony knows what I mean so he can sacrifice himself even though he has a five year old? Are you paying attention?"

"I'm sorry," was the first thing Stephen said when he got the courage to look at him. "Sorry for all of this. Sorry for making you do it. Sorry for leaving you in Titan and not telling you because I thought it was kinder but it wasn't, sorry for not telling you that I loved you every time and sorry for living through so many futures, all of them, where I couldn't save you. I'm sorry for leaving Pepper and Morgan without you, and Peter and Rhodes and Happy."

"Jesus, that's a lot of apologies. How's about my apology for not letting me talk first, huh?"

Stephen didn't answer, just let him have his way and talk. It was better if he didn't open his mouth, after all, he had just confessed his undying love for the man - that really didn't have any need to be announced, even to his ghost (who, he reprimanded himself, in this version of time had been MARRIED to a WOMAN and had a KID with). 

"I'm flattered by your affections, Strange, and the apologies, but they are unnecessary. Whilst I would have loved to live as I could have lived, this ghost life, providing I can continue using this form, means I can still be with Morgan and Pepper and everyone just like before. So, what I suppose I should be saying is thank you. Although. It would have been nice to have a rest. At least this way I'll be able to make sure that Fury keeps off Peter's trail, although from what I saw you were already doing that. Oh, and there's an old employee of mine called Quentin Beck, I need to put him in jail immediately. Sorry to put you at work despite your grief for me, but I'm back! So, I think you can just put this one guy in prison?"

"What'd he do?" Stephen asked out of interest.

"Well. It's more what he's going to do. He's going to nick the Kid's sunglasses."

"Um...Tony, I'm pretty sure Peter can handle that." 

"No, Stephen," Tony sighed, "You don't understand. He's going to take EDITH."

"Kidnapping? I'm sure we could get him for that."

"Um...EDITH is a system. Built by me, inside my glasses. That I gave to Peter."

Stephen narrowed his eyes at Tony. "What does that stand for?" 

"Unimportant. We need to find the kid, now. EDITH can find Beck ASAP." Tony blushed.

"I know you name things. Just a rather very intelligent system, female replacement intelligent digital assistant youth, now this."

"...How do you know JARVIS and FRIDAY?"

"Got curious one day, asked Friday."

"But you've never been to the compound...y'know what, I'd rather not know."

"Yes, well, what is EDITH? Tell me and I'll open the door so we can locate your darling Spider Kid."

"Even dead I'm the hero," Tony muttered shamefully.

"Anthony," Stephen glared.

"Hey," Tony looked at him aggressively. "'This was the only way' made me think, somehow, that you thought I was going to die! And I did! So I took precautions. I didn't expect you to go all out and ghost me back."

"Yeah, well, I didn't see this future, cause all I saw was you die and Thanos gone and everyone returned. You, and Nat were pretty much the only casualties. Well, and Loki, who Thor is convinced will return ASAP. So don't worry about him."

"I wasn't?" Tony looked at him. “But you can magic Nat back, as well, right?”

“It’ll be more challenging,” Stephen frowned. “But yes, I can. I’ll need to go and meet up with the Red Skull.”

“If you go and sacrifice yourself by jumping off a cliff, Strange, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“You’re lucky I let myself live long enough to bring you back,” Stephen stared at him. “You don’t know how hard it was to stare into Morgan’s face knowing I’d done that. I’d caused it. Her father not being present.”

More painful than her existence, itself, which he felt bittersweet about. Sure, Morgan was a sweet kid, Tony and Pepper deserved the world but...there was a time which Stephen had been Tony’s priority, his concern. Well. Not a time. A universe. An alternate universe.

“Well, she’ll have me now, won’t she!” Ghost Tony picked up a screwdriver that Stephen had lying around. “I can’t eat anymore, can I?”

“I’m afraid not,” Stephen blinked. Bizarre question.

“Shame, shame. I do really fucking love cheese burgers. Did. Huh, I don’t know.”

“Tony,” Stephen closed his eyes, “Go and see your family.”

The word family burned on his tongue, stung like a thousand wasps crawling in his throat, strangling him from within. He didn’t deserve a voice box, after declaring that statement. But it was too much, having him here, chatting to him as though it was just small talk, and he hadn’t just been conjured from the dead. As if he wasn’t talking to someone who loved him desperately, and had in many universes. Ones he couldn’t get back, ones he had had to leave behind for the sake of the world and Tony himself. 

“Thank you,” Tony said sincerely. Stephen didn’t...couldn’t look up. The man strode out of the sanctum and onto the streets of New York with a grin on his face, ghostly. And Iron Man flew into the distance, to the cottage with the lake and mountain views, to his daughter and wife and other close friends. To the ones he loved most.

And so the tears fell again.


End file.
